MANILA- The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested on Monday the owner of the dialysis center accused of making "ghost" claims with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth).

Dr. Brian Sy, owner of the WellMed Dialysis Center in Quezon City was arrested on charges of estafa, falsification of public documents, and violation of the PhilHealth law.

JUST IN: The NBI confirms that they have arrested Wellmed owner Brian Sy on the charges of estafa, falsification of public documents & violation of Philhealth laws. pic.twitter.com/4FNwNVFTiM

— Nikolo Baua (@Nikobaua) June 10, 2019

Sy went to the NBI headquarters on Monday to explain that former employees of the clinic were the ones supposedly involved in the fraudulent claims.

The clinic was accused of filing "ghost" claims with PhilHealth, as revealed by Edwin Roberto, a former employee.

Under the scheme, the clinic receives payments from PhilHealth for dialysis treatments for deceased patients.

President Rodrigo Duterte, over the weekend, ordered the arrest of Sy over the nonexistent kidney treatments.

"I tell them, 'Arrest the idiot, bring him to Malacañang'," he said in an interview on Pastor Apollo Quiboloy's television show on Sonshine Media Network.

"I will ask him, 'Tell me the truth and I will throw you to the river.' But he will be extricated, we will not allow him to be drowned," he said.

• Dialysis clinic owner faces NBI probe of alleged 'ghost' claims

-report from Nikolo Baua, ABS-CBN News